Chairman Jeff Talbot feels Chatham Town have been reborn after their overdue return to Ryman League Division 1 South.

Four seasons in the North division saw the Chats’ travel costs rocket and their home attendances steadily decrease.

But they can now look forward to 14 Kent derbies in 2015/16 and Mr Talbot expects the club to benefit financially.

He said: "It’s almost like starting again. This season is like our birthright, our chance to imprint our name on the league and secure a foothold.

"For the last four years, we’ve been playing in the North division which means local sponsors don’t see Kent derbies.

"We haven’t been playing most of the ‘A2 corridor clubs’ – instead of playing Sittingbourne and Faversham, we’ve been playing Wroxham and Needham Market.

"It’s massive to get back in the South. We’ll start picking up local derbies, we’ll get more people through the gate and should start to see more local sponsors come back to the club."

Read the full story in Friday's Medway Messenger.